HairOriginals: journey of renewable elegance towards sustainability

Learning outcomes The case outlines the renewable elegance in the global hair extensions and wigs business. The following objectives, aligned according to Bloom’s Taxonomy (Forehand, 2010), will be attained by studying the case overview and answering the assignment questions. Upon completion of the case discussion students will be able: Case overview/synopsis The case describes the challenge facing Jitendra Sharma, founder and CEO of HairOriginals, a leading brand of Krisoriginals Private Limited based in Gurugram, India. He had worked tirelessly for seven years to establish HairOriginals as a trusted name in the human hair extensions and wigs industry globally for sourcing high-quality, natural human hair from ethical channels, particularly from South Indian temples where hair donation was a sacred tradition. Sharma had to focus on sourcing high-quality, natural human hair in March 2024 to sustain in the US$14bn global hair market. The repetitive instances of smuggling and unethical sourcing of natural human hair to neighbouring countries like China, Myanmar causing a growing sustainability crisis in the human hair industry, which posed a major challenge to HairOriginals. The dilemma before Sharma was how to secure a sustainable and ethical business practices for transparency, fair trade practices, environmental responsibility and transition toward complete circularity. The case invites students to help Sharma prepare HO for complete circularity in his business by using sustainability models and frameworks. Complexity academic level The participation level of the case is suitable for graduate or post-graduate students in teaching courses on sustainability, entrepreneurship, innovation and management. This case needs comprehensive interdisciplinary knowledge in the domain of entrepreneurship, innovations, sustainability and circular economy. Some basic concepts on linear economy model and United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals is the prerequisite for the case study. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 2: Built Environment.